Hijacked
The Creation Story
By: Mike Hartman
Copyright 2011 Mike Hartman
Prologue
“911, what’s your emergency?”
The voice on the other end was panicked, “They are all dead! Oh my, please help me!”
“Ma’am, try to be calm. Who is dead?”
The same hysterical voice, “All of them! Oh, God help me!”
“I need you to be calm ma’am. Tell me what’s going on.”
The woman’s voice was anything but calm. “I don’t know what’s going on! They are all dead!” She was obviously distraught and confused.
“I’ve got help on the way. Please, take a deep breath and try to focus. What is your name?”
The woman remained charged and fired back rapidly, “How can you expect me to focus? Can’t you see? They are all dead! How could this have happened? They were fine yesterday, today they are gone. I, I don’t under…stand.” Her voice broke and she dropped the phone as she began to sob. The tears came in abundance now and the world closed in on her. She backed up against the wall, surveying the scene in front of her in disbelief. It was as if she was backing into a tunnel moving further and further from the world around her. She slowly slid down the wall and collapsed on the floor. Her brain flipped a protective switch and the lights went out.
Chapter 1
“Come on Red! Go Red! You’ve got him!” Rocky Stemler screamed from the bleachers as he cheered his son on. The water in the pool churned as his son Red dug down deep to pull out this last lap. He was neck in neck with the swimmer in the lane next to him with only 15 yards left to go. Rocky was on his feet cheering wildly for his son as he touched the wall just half a second before his opponent. Pride beamed on his face as he excitedly told the person next to him, “That’s my son!”
Mickey McCoskey, Red’s best friend was also in the bleachers cheering. He was excited for his friend, but watched with envy as Red’s dad burst with excitement. Red’s dad, Rocky, came to all his swim meets. He was involved in his son’s life and took pride in the things his son did. What Mickey wouldn’t give for a relationship like that with his father.
Mickey’s mom and dad had divorced when he was 9 years old. His mom had left his dad because of his endless string of girlfriends. About once a month his dad would pick him up to take him to a movie or to go to the mall. That was about the extent of their relationship. Mickey tried to act like this didn’t bother him, but he couldn’t deny the jealousy he felt while watching Red’s dad get so excited cheering him on. Mickey ran track, but he couldn’t think of a single time his dad had ever come to one of his track meets.
His dad had a new family now. He had married a beautiful new wife and had two new kids. Mickey was pretty much just baggage from his old life.
**********
At home that evening Red took a shower and lay down to read his novel in bed before falling asleep. This was his normal nighttime ritual. He didn’t tend to stay up late like some of his friends. He liked that time alone in the evenings to wind down. He was an avid reader and plowed through about a book a week. Suspense thrillers were his favorite, but he was pretty well rounded. He would read just about anything.
After about 30 minutes his eyes grew heavy and he caught himself dosing off. Shaking himself awake he tried to make it to the end of the chapter. He dosed off one more time, woke up, and kept going again. He made it to the end of the chapter, inserted the index card he used for a bookmark, and closed the book. Laying the book on his bedside table he turned off the lamp and quickly dosed off to sleep.
He awoke with a start and sat straight up in bed, gasping for breath. His forehead was covered with sweat. It took him a few minutes to get his bearings and come back to reality. These nightmares were killing him. It was the same thing, night after night. Would it never end?
After taking a few minutes for his breathing to settle and his heart rate to slow back down Red got out of bed and kneeled on the floor next to his bed. He prayed that God would give him strength to get through these hard times. Ever since that day last year his life had been turned upside down. As each night approached, he dreaded going to sleep, because every night dealt the same dreadful experience. He longed to get past all this.
Red climbed back up in his bed and looked at the clock... 2:00am. He lay back on his pillow and thought about that horrible night.
It was a normal Sunday morning. My mom, my sister, and I arrived home from church about 11:00. Dad had driven separately and stayed late for a meeting. I was only 16 at the time and my sister was 13. Everything looked normal enough as we pulled up to the house. Mom hit the button to open the garage door and waited while the door went up. We pulled into the garage and got out of the car. Nothing unusual about that. We entered from the garage into the kitchen. I didn’t pick up on anything wrong until mom entered the living room ahead of us. She screamed, but only for a second. The man grabbed her and quickly put his hand over her mouth. Two more men quickly grabbed me and my sister. There was moment of chaos as we struggled and tried to get away. I only weighed about 165 pounds and was no match for these guys.
They quickly subdued us and the next thing I knew we were tied up and totally at their mercy. They tied my hands and feet and secured me to a chair in the living room. I was helpless to get up. My sister was likewise tied up in the other chair. Mom was lying on her back on the couch. Her hands were tied together and pulled over the arm of the couch. They were secured by a short length of rope to the leg of the couch down by the floor. Unlike us, her feet were not bound.
I had never been so scared in my life. I tried desperately to make sense of the situation, but nothing made sense at the moment. Mom and my sister both looked terrified! I guess I probably looked that way too. I’d like to say I was brave and composed, but that would be a lie. I’m sure I was as scared as they were.
The smaller man seemed to be in charge. He had a strange scar on the left side of his face. It ran from his left eye down the side of his cheek toward his mouth and then curved sharply back toward his left ear. Even though he was bigger than me, he wasn’t really a big man. About 5’10”, maybe 180 pounds. He had dark hair and was fairly well dressed. The other two men seemed to be his henchmen. They were each much larger than him. About six foot or maybe six foot-two. They both easily went for 250 pounds.
It all happened so fast. Up to this point is just a blur in my memory. All 6 of us were staring at each other. The two goons were standing in the middle of the living room staring at us. The smaller man had gone to the window to check the front of the house. Satisfied that my dad wasn’t home yet and no one else was with us, he turned to one of the goons and nodded his head.
The scene changed drastically from just a blur to a slow motion horror movie that was absolutely terrifying! The goon moved in on my mom. He quickly shed his pants and his intentions were clear.
Mom screamed and kicked and flailed. My sister and I screamed, but we were totally incapacitated in our chairs. Mom tried her best to fight him off. She landed a good kick to his stomach. He decided to soften her up a bit. He hit her hard in the face with his fist. She continued to fight and kick. He hit her in the face several more times. My sister and I were both crying uncontrollably by now. The goon managed to subdue mom’s flailing legs. He pulled her dress up above her waist and forced himself between her legs.
It was an awful scene. I still can’t believe it. After a few minutes he finished his business. By now mom was silent, almost in a catatonic state. I guess she had emotionally removed herself from t
he situation. As goon number 1 got up off of her, I watched as goon number 2 moved in.
I took a look at my sister. She was frightened beyond description. As her older brother, I felt it was my place to protect her, but I was powerless. Scarface looked at her and said, “Don’t worry honey. I won’t let them touch you. I’m saving you for when your dad gets home. Then I’ll do you myself and force him to watch.”
Goon number 2 mounted my mom. She didn’t have any fight left in her. Her face was badly battered. Her right eye was swollen shut and her nose was bleeding. She laid there looking off into space while he had his way with her. It was the most terrifying experience of my life!
As goon number 2 was putting his pants back on I heard the garage door go up. Dad was home. Scarface got an excited look on his face and the three of them went to the garage to fetch my dad. They came back to the living room a minute later.
Goon number 1 was behind my dad with a gun pressed against the back of his head. Goon number 2 had a hold of his right arm and was forcing him into the living room. Scarface was leading the way with a satisfied look of excitement on his face.
Dad went white when he saw the scene in front of him as he entered the living room. It’s hard to find the words to describe how he looked. I can’t really say he looked scared. It was more like he was shocked at what he saw. After a brief moment of shock, it was almost like he switched gears and methodically took in the situation. He looked at me… he looked at mom… and he looked at my sister. He looked at goon number 1 and goon number 2, and then he looked at Scarface. I was surprised when dad was the first to speak, “Hello Ernie,” he said slowly.
Ernie must be Scarface’s real name. He responded, “Well, well, well. I told you that you would be seeing me again. If nothing else, I am a man of my word. I’m glad you could join our little party. It turns out you are just in time for our main event.” As he said this Ernie walked over slowly and stroked the back of his hand across my sister’s face.
Dad just looked at him. I’d never seen my dad this way before. There was calm about him I would have never expected in a person under these circumstances.
“My men have been graciously entertaining your wife while we waited for you,” Ernie said. “You don’t need to worry though. I didn’t allow them to touch your daughter. What is she, thirteen years old? Such a pretty thing.” He stroked her cheek again while he was saying this. “No, I saved her virtue until you got home. I wouldn’t want you to miss the show. That wouldn’t be very nice now would it?” Dad just continued to give him that cold stare.
Ernie walked over to dad and said with a menacing voice, “I told you not to screw with me! You should have looked the other way and left well enough alone. Then everyone would be happy and we wouldn’t have to create our own entertainment like this.”
Goon number 1 still had the gun pressed into the side of my dad’s head. He had a hold of dad’s left arm and goon number 2 was gripping dad’s right arm in a death grip.
Ernie said, “Well, we shouldn’t delay any further. As they say, the show must go on.” He began unbuckling his pants as he walked back over toward my sister. Her terror kicked into high gear once more and she started screaming and pulling at her bonds trying desperately to get away.
It was all so surreal. I’ve never seen anything like it. In one swift movement dad was free from his captors. The two goons went flying to the floor and dad rushed Ernie. He tackled him full force. Goon number 2 recovered first and pulled dad off Ernie. Dad dispatched him with a punch to the throat. He turned back toward goon number 1 to find him recovering enough to level his gun in dad’s direction. Dad threw a kick that would have made Bruce Lee proud. It connected with the hand holding the gun. As his foot connected the gun fired, but by then his aim was diverted and dad was safe from the discharged bullet. Dad grabbed his arm, spun him around, and was behind him in a heartbeat. Before I could blink he had grabbed goon number 1’s head and snapped his neck. Goon number 1 fell to the floor in a lifeless heap.
Goon number 2 charged at my dad, knife in hand. Dad gracefully sidestepped the assault and pulled the goon’s arm behind him. He had a hold of the wrist with the arm extended out straight behind the goon. In a split second dad crashed the palm of his other hand down on the goons elbow with such force I jumped. I heard the elbow break as it bent backwards. Goon number 2 only screamed for a brief second before dad reached over and ripped out his windpipe. He threw the bloody handful aside before the goon even hit the floor.
Dad looked for Ernie, but he was no longer in the room. He ran out of the house and left me, my mom, and my sister just staring at each other with two dead goons lying on the floor.
It took several hours to put this all together in my mind. Like I said, it was surreal. I was in shock and nothing was really registering. I knew dad had been a navy SEAL. I guess I never really knew what that meant. I thought he just swam around in the ocean and partied with his buddies. This was serious shit!
Dad and I had always been close but I gained a whole new level of respect for him that day. My dad was a badass with a capital B! I decided that day that I would be a navy SEAL one day.
Scarface, uh Ernie, got away. Dad told me later that Ernie had been using one of the employees at the bank to orchestrate a money laundering scheme. When dad found out about the employee’s activities he fired him. Apparently Ernie had threatened Dad and told him to look the other way. Dad didn’t heed the threat.
We have all been in counseling for the past year. Mom will never be the same. She had something taken from her that day that can never be replaced. I guess I’m doing better. At least I’m doing as well as can be expected. Each of us is dealing with the trauma in our own way. Strangely enough, my sister and I have never spoken of the event to each other since the day it happened. Now a year later, I’m surviving the daytime hours. It’s these damn nightmares at night. I rely on God to get me through each night. If it weren’t for Him, I don’t know how I would survive.
Red’s breathing and heart rate had now returned to normal as he lay on his bed after the nightmare. He said another prayer and then drifted back to sleep.
Chapter 2
Mickey and Red sat in the lunchroom at school eating hamburgers and looking at girls. Their senior year had been a good one, but now that it was spring they were both beginning to think about what would happen to them after they graduated from high school.
Red wanted to go to college, but his family didn’t have a lot of money and he had no idea how he could possibly afford it. He had decided long ago that he was going to be a navy SEAL. The only question was whether he would go to college first and join as an officer or if he would join straight out of high school as an enlisted man. Since that dreadful day, his dad had told him stories from his navy days and Red was intrigued by them. He could totally see himself being a SEAL. He was like a fish in the water. He was strong. He had heart. Most of all, he knew it would make his dad proud if he followed in his footsteps.
Mickey on the other hand had no idea what he wanted to do. Life pretty much sucked. He and his mom struggled to get by. Since his mom and dad divorced, his mom had been out looking for a new man to be a father for him. As a result she wasn’t around much and he sort of raised himself. His dad only cared about himself, so he wasn’t there for him. Mickey felt like he was in a desperate situation and just wanted to be out on his own.
Dipping a French fry in the glob of ketchup on his tray Red said, “Hey Mickey, my dad is taking me to the recruiter’s office on Saturday. You should come with us.”
Mickey wasn’t extremely interested. He answered in a noncommittal voice, “I don’t know. I’m not sure what I’ll be doing Saturday.” The truth was that he didn’t really want to go anywhere with Red and his dad. It was kind of like rubbing salt in his wounds. His jealousy raged whenever he was around the two of them together. Why
couldn’t he have a relationship like that with his dad?
“Come on,” said Red. “It will be fun. I’m really excited about it and I’d like you to see what I’m getting into.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Mickey was ready to end this conversation. He changed the subject. “I’m thinking about asking Michelle to the dance. What do you think?”
“I think she’s hot. Are you nervous?”
“Yeah, what do you think she will say?” Mickey probed looking for some encouragement.
“There’s only one way to find out. I saw her looking at you in math class yesterday. I think she has her eye on you. If you go to the dance with her on your arm I’m going to be as jealous as a green-eyed monster.”
**********
Saturday morning arrived. Mickey got into a big argument with his mom at breakfast. She could be so hard to get along with. It ended up with the two of them yelling and screaming at each other. Then his mom started crying and locked herself in her bedroom. Mickey decided he had to get out of the house. He didn’t know where he was going, but he had to get out for awhile. Why is life so difficult? he thought as he was walking out the front door.
His cell phone chirped. He opened the phone and saw it was a text message from Red. He pushed the button and read, “What about our trip to the recruiting station?”
As much as he didn’t want to spend time around Red and his dad, he thought even less of the idea of staying here with his mom. She had been difficult to get along with in the past few months. It seemed like these fights were occurring more often as time went by. She was probably counting the days until he graduated and moved out of the house. He realized that was only a few short months away. What was he going to do? How could he afford to move out? Where would he go? The only thing he knew for sure was that he was leaving. He texted back, “What time are you picking me up?”